Simply said, the divide was a result of the Walloon region in the South of modern-day Belgium being run by the Gauls during the Roman Empire while the Flanders Region in the North was being infiltrated by Gothic Germans.French immediately became the official language in Belgium which upset the Flemish Speakers.
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When did Belgium start speaking French?
In 1830, the Belgians had enough of the Dutch king Willem I and his malarky, and declared themselves independent. The inhabitants of Wallonia, the region that is called ‘Wallonie’, speak French.
Why did French become Belgium’s dominant language?
The French-speaking population feared that their opportunities for participation in government were threatened, and that they would become unneeded elements of the new Kingdom. Under pressure from these groups, in 1830 King William I reintroduced a language freedom policy throughout all of present-day Belgium.
Why do they speak French in Brussels?
The many immigrants, most of whom originated from Flanders, were forced to speak French if they wanted to climb the social ladder. This caused the Frenchification of Brussels to continue at a rapid pace.
Do Belgians speak French?
In Belgium you can speak any language you want. For contacts with the authorities three official languages can be used: Dutch, French and German. These languages are not spoken everywhere, because Belgium is subdivided into federated states. Each federated state has its own official language.
How did French get to Belgium?
The French Revolutionary wars led to Belgium becoming part of France in 1795, bringing the end of the semi-independence of areas which had belonged to the Catholic church.Belgium was neutral but its strategic location as a pathway to France made it an invasion target for Germany in 1914 and 1940.
How is Belgian French different?
Overall, the lexical differences between Standard French and Belgian French are minor.The use of septante for “seventy” and nonante for “ninety”, in contrast to Standard French soixante-dix (literally “sixty-ten”) and quatre-vingt-dix'(“four-twenty-ten”).
Why does Congo speak French and not Flemish?
French is the official language of the country since its colonial period under Belgian rule. Therefore, the variety of French used in the DRC has many similarities with Belgian French.The Democratic Republic of the Congo currently has the largest French-speaking population of any country outside France.
Does Belgium speak Flemish?
Flemish is spoken by approximately 5.5 million people in Belgium and by a few thousand people in France. Flemish is spoken by about 55% of the population of Belgium. There are also several thousand Flemish speakers in France. Flemish uses the Latin alphabet.
Why does Belgium speak 3 languages?
Historically speaking, the country has had quite a wide variety of rulers, influencing how multilingual and multicultural Belgians are today. Due to their close proximity to these three countries, they have three official languages that divide Belgium into three main regions.
Why do former Belgian colonies speak French?
When Belgium gained independence, Flanders was substantially poorer than the southern half of the country, which lent an additional prestige to French, the language of the ruling classes.
Why is French spoken in Switzerland?
Why Is French Spoken in Switzerland? French was first introduced in Switzerland around the 15th century through books and, of course, its proximity to France.French was then recognized as an official language together with German and Italian since the foundation of the Swiss Confederation in 1848.
Are Belgians Dutch?
The majority of Belgians, however, belong to two distinct ethnic groups or communities (Dutch: gemeenschap or French: communauté) native to the country, i.e. its historical regions: Flemings in Flanders, who speak Dutch, and Walloons in Wallonia, who speak French or Walloon.
What language is spoken by 80 cents in Brussels?
French
French is the language spoken by 80 percent of the population in Brussels and consider it to be their first language.
Is Belgium French or German?
Use
| Distribution of languages of Belgium | |
|---|---|
| Dutch (Flemish) | 59.6% |
| French | 40% |
| German | 0.4% |
Why does Belgium have two languages?
Why do Belgium have two languages? DESPITE being a relatively small country, two major languages are spoken around Belgium.The diversity is due to the countries chequered history, with it constantly changing hands between various nations until independence from the Dutch in 1830.
Why is Belgium not part of France?
The main reason for Brussels being mainly French-speaking was the low social prestige of the Dutch language in Belgium during the 19th century and the severe discrimination of both Dutch as a language and of the Flemings.One problem is that the regions do not border each other, as Brussels is an enclave in Flanders.
Why is Belgium called the cockpit of Europe?
Belgium is called the ‘Cockpit of Europe’ because it is where the largest number of European battles have taken place in the history.
Can Dutch understand Flemish?
In essence, a Dutch speaker will be able to understand a Flemish speaker and respond back, and the same goes for the opposite.Dutch people also often mention that the Flemish dialect sounds softer. This is because the Dutch language makes use of stronger tones.
Is Flemish like French?
listen)), or Southern Dutch (Zuid-Nederlands). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region.
| Flemish | |
|---|---|
| Vlaams | |
| Vlaams | |
| Native to | Belgium, Netherlands, France |
| Region | Flanders, Zeelandic Flanders, French Flanders |
Is there a Belgian accent?
There isn’t really a unique Belgian accent, but many different accents : Flemish accent, Brussels accent, Walloon accent, Namur accent, etc. You will have to get used to it! Most of the time, the Belgian accent seems a little bit slower than the French accent, since we don’t insist on the same words and parts.
